name, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   plural of shear form-of, plural
2. 2
   A tool consisting of two blades with bevel edges, connected by a pivot, used for cutting cloth, or for removing the fleece from sheep etc.

   "Near-synonym: scissors"

3. 3
   large scissors with strong blades wordnet
4. 4
   The bedpiece of a machine tool, upon which a table or slide rest is secured.

   "the shears of a lathe or planer"

5. 5
   An apparatus for raising heavy weights, and especially for stepping and unstepping the lower masts of ships. It consists of two or more spars or pieces of timber, fastened together near the top, steadied by a guy or guys, and furnished with the necessary tackle. Also sheers.

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6. 6
   Anything resembling a pair of shears in shape or motion, such as a pair of wings.

   "two sharp winged Shears, Decked with divers Plumes, like painted Jays, Were fixed at his Back, to cut his airy ways."

Verb

1. 1
   third-person singular simple present indicative of shear form-of, indicative, present, singular, third-person

Proper Noun

1. 1
   plural of Shear form-of, plural

Synonyms

All synonyms

clippersedge toolhatchetjackknifenipperspick

Example

More examples

"The gardener cuts back the bushes with shears and the grass with a scythe."

Related phrases

garden shearsguillotine shearsknight of the shearslever shearspair of shearspinking shearspruning shearspurchase shearstexturizing shearstrauma shears

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.